Google announced on July 19, the large-scale deployment for Canada and the United States, of Call Metrics . Call Metrics allows you to add a toll-free phone number (1-800) to an AdWords text ad and thus generate calls for companies using this service. During its test phase, Call Metrics generated more than 5 million calls to thousands of companies, with an average time of six minutes per call . Call Metrics is still in its infancy, at a fixed cost, but Google is already planning to add bidding dynamics to it, which promises to add spice to positioning tactics.
HOW DOES CALL METRICS WORK?
First of all, it is important to distinguish between Call Metrics, which is first and foremost an addition to AdWords advertising aimed at generating additional calls , and Call Tracking , which is more of an onsite measurement tool aimed calculate the number of calls generated by internet traffic or a particular traffic source.
An advertiser opting for Call Metrics will therefore see a telephone number appear to the right of the title of his ad. The advertiser already immediately obtains an advantage over its competitors, with an added visual element.
When a user sees the advertisement and makes a call to the toll-free number, Google redirects the call to the company's actual number. Detailed reports are then generated in the advertiser's AdWords account, allowing them to see which campaigns or advertisements generated the calls, as well as detailed statistical reports by campaign offering information such as the duration of the call and the code regional. This data makes it easier for the advertiser to calculate their real return on investment.
Of course, as nothing in life is free and Google charges US$1.00 per call generated by Call Metrics or $1.20 in Canada. And since nothing is simple either, there are some subtleties in terms of prices , particularly with regard to calls made via mobile phones, which are billed at the same price as a click-to-call .
HOW TO SET UP CALL METRICS ?
Call Metrics can be set up very quickly and easily , by clicking on the Ad Extensions or Ad Extensions tab . Then simply select the Location Extensions or Call Extensions option , enter your country and phone number in the appropriate box and check the Call Metrics option . From its Google Voice platform , Google will assign you a toll-free number and redirect calls to your business phone number.
A FEW THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND
- Only use Call Metrics during business hours: You paid to receive these calls. It would be silly for a potential customer to run into a voicemail. It is therefore preferable to duplicate your campaigns and only use those displaying the Call Metrics during your business hours, thus limiting lost calls.
- Redirect the customer directly to the service he is looking for: AdWords campaigns allow you to redirect the user with great precision to the appropriate landing page . You can therefore, in the same vein, associate the phone number of the appropriate department with specific announcements, thus avoiding losing a customer in a maze of automated telephone choices.
- Train your resources: Make sure that the person taking the calls is trained in sales, in order to convert these potential customers into concrete sales.
- Measure from quantitative to qualitative: Google offers a call measurement system, but it remains strictly quantitative (area code, call duration). How about the quality? By redirecting calls from your AdWords campaigns to a specific number and asking your employees to rate their quality, you'll be able to track Call Metrics performance much more comprehensively .
- Do not pay more than once: One of the dangers of Call Metrics is that a customer takes note of the Call Metrics telephone number and calls you again and again from that number. Find a mechanism to invite your customer to contact another number, for example by assigning them an account manager, with a direct number.
- Build loyalty from the first call: Another interesting suggestion is to ask for the email addresses of people who contact you in order to build up a customer database.
In a second post, we will share with you the results obtained by one of our clients who tried Call Metrics and discuss the future implications of Call Metrics on AdWords campaigns and ad positioning.
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